A Love Before Time
by Jess2
Summary: Sakura Wars+Slam Dunk...A maiden who slept for seven decades, awaiting her lost lover's return...A warrior reincarnated into another life, with no memories of his past...A evil that followed them through the years...A Love Before Time...
1. Default Chapter

A LOVE BEFORE TIME-Prologue  
  
Disclaimers: All Slam Dunk Characters, Sakura Wars Characters yada yada DO NOT belong to me, as much as I wish otherwise. So don't bother going to a lawyer to sue me, coz I don't have any money. But, all situations written are figments of my imagination after reading several other fictions. So, don't say I didn't warn you!  
  
Jess-san's notes: Very confusing story, but I still think the plot is pretty ok. Inspired by the fan-fiction 'To Love You Again', and Coco Lee's song, 'A Love before Time'.  
  
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[Tokyo-Year 1920]  
  
Boom! Boom! Boom! Crash!  
  
Oogami's Kobu landed with a deafening crash alongside the enemy's machine. The impact of their fall was felt by the entire Hanagumi team. They had won the battle but not the war.  
  
'Oogami!'  
  
Maria was scrambling out of her Kobu. The instant her feet touched the ground; she raced towards Oogami's fallen Kobu. Reaching it, she hit and tried to open it repeatedly. The door slowly raised itself, releasing a wave of steam.  
  
A dark shadow climbed out from the steaming machine. The young man looked ragged but wore a smile of triumph. He slumped into Maria's arms. Maria gently laid him in her lap as she sat on the ground.  
  
Tears were flowing freely down her cheeks. Oogami's hand reached out and wiped away her tears. 'So beautiful,' he whispered, breathless. 'Don't cry.'  
  
Maria tried to will the tears away, but no avail. Drops of salty water dripped onto Oogami's parched lips. 'Don't cry, dearest,' he consoled her. It was the first time he called her in such affectionate terms in public since they started a relationship. Maria was always skeptical displaying public affection, even verbally.  
  
'I cannot lead you all into battle anymore.' He stopped to take a breath. Already, he had difficulty breathing. 'But you must carry on the fight. Promise me that.'  
  
Maria nodded wordlessly. She was still sobbing as she cradled his hand against his cheek. 'Don't worry, I'll always be there for you,' he gently whispered. Maria nodded silently again.  
  
The scene from years back, flooded into her mind. Her former Taichou had died in front of her then. Will history repeat itself with Ichirou?  
  
'I'll be with you again in another life, when we don't have to fight anymore. I promise you, I'll grow taller so you don't have to break your back when kissing me anymore,' he teased her.  
  
'Lose that spiked hair style too.' Maria attempted to joke. Oogami's breathing grew more ragged as his chest rose and up and down frantically. 'We will meet again, this I promise you,' he said croakily.  
  
'I believe you, Ichirou,' Maria said softly. Oogami started panting again. Taking a deep breath, he released it, and never to breath again. And thus, Oogami Ichirou, captain of Team Hana, died at the young age of 18.  
  
'No!!!' Maria's heart rending wail broke through the cold drafty night. Only the howling of wind was heard. Maria felt a comforting weight on her shoulder. She looked up to see the tall, innocent red-head looking at her with tears in her eyes.  
  
Her tears had never stopped flowing. Slowly, she bent down and gave her lover the final kiss. The soft lips were still warm, but yet the spirit had already departed. Cradling the lifeless body in her arms, she felt as though her heart is being shredded into pieces and it was as though the pain will never stop.  
  
'A love before time,' she whispered into the darkness. Theirs was a love before it's time. Circumstances had prevented them from living their live together.  
  
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[Tokyo- A year later]  
  
Oogami's sacrifice had not been in vain. Team Hana carried on his spirit into battle and manage to defeat the dark forces, entombing them at the base of Mount Fuji.. But Maria had never forgotten her lover and friend.  
  
Ri Kohran managed to build a hibernation machine. No one wanted to be her guinea pig, as her inventions so often go haywire. Maria agreed to test it. Life without Oogami was not worth living and she might as well sleep it away.  
  
Ri set the dial to the year 1993. Maria entered the small and crude chamber. Gas flooded in as she was swept away into infinity of darkness.  
  
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[Tokyo-Year 1993]  
  
'Maria, are you alright?' A gentle voice floated above her. Maria's eyes fluttered open. A very old woman peered at her from above.  
  
She was old, but handsome, exuding an aura of dignity. Her fiery red hair streaked with silver was tied back into a bun at the nape of her neck. Her face had not mellowed with the passage of time.  
  
  
  
'Kanna,' Maria whispered weakly. Her old team mate smiled broadly. 'Yo, Ri. She's awake and alright!'  
  
Another old lady came to see her. She was shorter and visibly younger than Kanna. She smiled sweetly as she looked at Maria through her thick glasses. 'Maria, welcome back.'  
  
'Ri, your glasses seems thicker,' Maria remarked. Kanna guffawed loudly at her small joke. Ri and Maria exchanged glances. 'Isn't she supposed to be too old to act like this?'  
  
'Kanna never changed a bit, even though she is a great-grandmother by now,' Ri grinned broadly. 'Her entire line of descendants ended up being red heads. Her youngest great-grandson is in university now.'  
  
'She is a great-grandmother? But she looked as though she is in her sixties only,' Maria said in an amazed tone. 'So do you!'  
  
Ri laughed. 'Maria, it's the year 1995 now. We are all in our eighties and nineties. Over the years, I managed to create a drug that can prolong our life span. Kanna took it, saying she wanted to wait for you to wake up.'  
  
At this point, Maria smiled at the tall woman. 'I had to take it to make sure everything is alright when you wake up,' Ri continued. 'We are the only people alive from the original Team Hana now.'  
  
'What happened to the others?' Maria asked. Ri bowed her head, 'Some of them died in the wars. Sumire is now living in New York, America. Sakura ten years ago and Iris are upstairs, awaiting your return.'  
  
Kanna smiled wistfully. 'It would have been nice to be together today. We all took the drug but only three of us made it. And Maria, you are still as beautiful as ever.'  
  
Me? Maria thought dazedly. Ri handed her a mirror and she stared dumbly at her reflection. She had not changed at all.  
  
'I inserted a chemical to slow your aging process. If my calculations are correct, you are now only 21 years old,' Ri informed her. True, her blond hair was slightly longer but she did not carry the lines of age.  
  
She sat up and surveyed her surroundings. 'Are we still at the theater?' she asked after looking around. It was different from the lab she had gone to sleep nearly seventy years ago. Everything looked so.futuristic. The decorations were of white and chrome.  
  
'No,' Kanna said sadly. 'We are now in Kanagawa. The theater had been bombed in the World War Two.' 'Oh.'  
  
'You better put this on. You'll look out of place in those.' Kanna said, handing her a set of clothes. 'And Yoneda managed to create a new identity for you before he died.'  
  
'I see.' Maria stared at the clothes. They look alien to her. 'Do I have to wear this?'  
  
'Yes,' Kanna confirmed. She was wearing a smart business suit. Maria got out of the chamber and changed behind a screen.  
  
'Let's go home, Maria,' Ri said as she led Maria out of the lab.  
  
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Jess: What do you think bout this prologue? Comments and reviews are welcomed. In fact, I insist!!! Heheh.Do tell me what you think.  
  
Anyway, one of the SW sites told me that Kanna, Maria and Oogami are born in 1903.so by 1995, they will be 92 years old. Voila. And Slam Dunk was created in 1992, and at that time, Sakuragi and Rukawa, as freshmen were sixteen, three years later they will be in college!!! Voila again!!!  
  
Anyways, keep guessing the pairing. Send in who you think is the pairing in this fiction before you read the next chapter. Please.Pretty please? 


	2. Chapter One

CHP 1  
  
Disclaimers: All Slam Dunk Characters, Sakura Wars Characters yada yada DO NOT belong to me, as much as I wish otherwise. So don't bother going to a lawyer to sue me, coz I don't have any money. But, all situations written are figments of my imagination after reading several other fictions. So, don't say I didn't warn you!  
  
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Maria walked through the long corridor with Kanna and Ri at her other side. A bright cheerful voice captured her attention as her gaze wandered towards its source at the end of the hall.  
  
'Maria-chan!' A young girl about ten with golden locks ran towards her, arms open. Maria smiled and scooped the girl up. 'Is this you Iris? I though you should be an old woman by now!'  
  
'She never aged at all,' Kanna said wryly. 'We believe it's her supernatural powers that gave her everlasting youth and also because her sub-conscious mind does not want to grow up,' Ri supplied. 'Thus, she still has the intellect and understanding of a ten year old.'  
  
'Amazing,' Maria said breathlessly, looking down at Iris. The child continues to smile sweetly at her long lost friend. 'Iris wants to grow up with Maria-chan. Iris wants to wait for oniisan to come back.'  
  
Maria felt some wetness trickle down her cheek. Kanna and Ri exchanged troubled looks. Almost a century had passed, yet she still had not forgotten about Oogami. 'Let's eat dinner! We are having.curry,' Kanna said enthusiastically.  
  
'Yep, come let's cook together. It's been decades since we last cooked together,' Ri said smiling. 'But the others are not here, are they?' Maria asked stonily. The somber mood set in once more.'  
  
'All the more we must cook, as a tribute to their memory,' Kanna insisted. She dragged the other two into the spacious kitchen and began pulling out pots and pans. Maria smiled inwardly, the innocent and guileless red head never changed.  
  
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'Great curry,' Kanna said with a contented sigh. 'Everything tastes great to you,' Ri teased. Kanna shot her an icy look as Maria gave a small smile.  
  
'Oh yeah, Yoneda fixed you a new identity, certificates, background and such,' Kanna said as she produced a package. Maria undid it; there lay some new certificates, driving licence, ID card and lots more. She picked up her ID and read, 'Tachibana Maria, born 1975.'  
  
'How did he.' she began but Kanna stopped her. 'We never asked, and I don't want to know,' she said clearly. 'So, what are we going to do now?'  
  
'Why don't you take her to the university? She will be studying there anyway, and she can meet some new friends,' Ri suggested.  
  
'Me, study at university?' Maria looked at Kanna and Ri in disbelief. Iris had long ago left the table. Kanna nodded to confirm Ri's statement.  
  
'I am a soldier. Soldiers fight for their country and not stay indoors and study,' Maria intoned tonelessly. 'The country is not at war, and you are no longer a soldier. You are Tachibana Maria, and student at Kanagawa State University,' Ri countered.  
  
Maria stared at the two women. They met her stare determinedly. 'Alright, let's go,' she finally conceded. 'But first, give me my gun.'  
  
Ri and Kanna exchanged glances once more before looking down at the parquet floor. 'There's something we haven't told you yet, Maria,' Kanna began in a nervous voice. 'You can't carry a gun around anymore.'  
  
'NANI?!'  
  
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'Here is your university,' Kanna said from behind the steering wheel. Maria looked at the tall and imposing entrance into the Kanagawa State University campus.  
  
The buildings looked tall and frightening. They were all very modern in the eyes of a woman who has slept the last seventy years of her life away. For once, Maria was awed by the splendor around her.  
  
Maria had reluctantly left the mansion without a gun attached to her body. She missed the familiar coolness that calmed her during critical situations. But that can not be help if she is to start a new life.  
  
Ri and Kanna had spent two hours telling her that it isn't necessary to carry a gun around in the twentieth century any longer. The wars were over and the Evil were still trapped in the base of Mount Fuji.  
  
Iris had opted to stay at home to wait for them to return. Kanna drove them all to the nearby University.  
  
They got down and showed Maria around. Ri used to be a professor at the University. She was one of the best lecturers cum scientist the University ever had, and still commanded a lot of respect. Using her influence, she managed to arrange for Maria to 'drop in' without any preferences from her former school of University.  
  
'And this is the basketball court. My great-grandson is probably in there,' Kanna said with a tinge of pride in her voice. The thumps of basketballs and the squeaking of shoes filtered through the doors.  
  
Maria felt an overwhelming force course to her entire being. She felt as though she belonged there. The door slid open and a familiar figure poised in front of the basket, taking aim.  
  
Maria only whispered one word.  
  
'Oogami.'  
  
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Jess: First, Iris is said to have supernatural powers and I guess it won't be too unbelievable if I say she is able to stay young.  
  
Heh. Oogami is back. Who do you think it is? Rukawa? Sakuragi? Mitsui? Sigh, I am bad. Drop me a line and tell me what you think.  
  
Ok, I know this is way sort. But you know what? I want to end there, because you will be wondering who is Oogami.  
  
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	3. Chapter Two

CHP 2  
  
Disclaimers: All Slam Dunk Characters, Sakura Wars Characters yada yada DO NOT belong to me, as much as I wish otherwise. So don't bother going to a lawyer to sue me, coz I don't have any money. But, all situations written are figments of my imagination after reading several other fictions. So, don't say I didn't warn you!  
  
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As Sendoh gently released the ball, he felt a jolt of electric pass through his body. The ball landed and rebounded on the rim. Luckily for the team, Sakuragi appeared out of no where, leaped and caught it neatly.  
  
With a heavy slam dunk, the ball went cleanly through the net. 'Luckily tensai is around,' Sakuragi yelled loudly. 'Sendoh, maybe you are getting to old of this,' he continued.  
  
'Do'aho.' A cold but infuriating voice came to his ears, Turning around, he saw the dark haired boy walking towards the end of the court. 'Teme, Kitsune!,' he called as he raced after the boy.  
  
'And you need to improve your vocabulary too.'  
  
'Baka!'  
  
Before long, the two was involved in a full fledge fight.  
  
Sendoh smiled at the troublesome pair. Over the years, the two had each matured in their own ways. They formed a close bond and earned the label, 'Kanagawa's Dynamic Duo' in the basketball world.  
  
But some things never change. They still like fighting and irritating each other. In Sendoh's opinion, it is their way of bonding and getting to know each other better.  
  
Sendoh averted his gaze from the fighting duo to the now open gym door. There stood two elderly ladies and one young woman. One of the old ladies had bright red hair, streaked with silver.  
  
But it was the young woman which caught his attention. He could have sworn he had met her before, but surely not. He would certainly have remembered that blond hair and tall and erect stature.  
  
He could feel her blue eyes burning into his.  
  
Who was this stranger?  
  
One word escaped his lips involuntarily. 'Maria.'  
  
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Maria watched as the tall players shot missed. A red-headed boy rushed up and dunked the ball in. Then that red-player got him into a fight.  
  
Maria found herself staring at the tall spike headed player face to face. The resemblance was uncanny. They had the same dark brown eyes that carried a passionate look and easy-going grin. He really looked like Ichirou.  
  
'Sakuragi Hanamichi,' Kanna bellowed at the court in a loud voice for one so old. The fighting stopped with Sakuragi on top of Rukawa. Looking at the entrance, his handsome face formed into a grin.  
  
The next thing Kanna knew, her red-headed great-grandson had engulfed her in a bear hug. 'Obaasan,' he cried delightedly, 'What brings you here?'  
  
'I brought my friend's.daughter. Her name is Maria,' she replied hesitatingly, gesturing at Maria. Sakuragi looked at her as though inspecting a horse he is about to buy. Maria would have shot him in the head but firstly, he is Kanna's great-grandson. Secondly, she doesn't have a gun.  
  
'Hana-san, I have told you to fight properly, ne?' Kanna smiled at her great-grandson fondly. 'You fought like an amateur just now.'  
  
Sakuragi blushed. Turning to Maria, 'Any friend of obaasan is a friend of mine. I, tensai Sakuragi Hanamichi shall introduce you to my teammates. Even though none of them is as handsome as the tensai, you might find someone.'  
  
Ri, Kanna and Maria exchanged amused glances. In some ways, this young man is very much like Kanna, but certainly much more arrogant. 'Why is he so arrogant?' Maria asked in a low voice. 'It came from his great- grandfather's side,' Kanna said wryly. A wistful smile played across her lips at the memory of her late husband.  
  
By now, the entire team had congregated around the ladies. Sakuragi introduced them one by one. They all greeted them in a friendly way. Sendoh was slightly shocked to learn that her name is really Maria.  
  
He caught her staring at her weirdly. Realizing that he had noticed, Maria averted her gaze elsewhere. Soon, they started to play again. Sendoh and Rukawa continued to stun the crowd with their spectacular shots and Sakuragi leapt higher than ever.  
  
'I believe Sakuragi is your great-grandson,' Maria commented. 'He is not as good as you, but I can see he is a fighter. He possesses your speed and energy.'  
  
'Of course he is,' Kanna said proudly. 'I trained him, but by the time he was ready, I was too old to train him properly. He is the best among all my children.' Kanna is really fond of this brash young man. He reflected her qualities in many ways.  
  
'What about you, Ri?' Maria asked, turning to the bespectacled woman beside her. 'I didn't get married. I taught mechanical engineering and researched in ways to enhance the Kobu's abilities,' Ri explained.  
  
Maria only nodded. They then continued to watch the game in silence.  
  
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'I can feel it,' Maria said quietly. She was sitting in the backseat and she decided to tell the other two about Sendoh.  
  
'Feel what?' Kanna asked cheerfully, her eyes on the road.  
  
'I can feel it. Ichirou is back.'  
  
Kanna swerved in time to avoid hitting the truck. She parked by the roadside and turned to face Maria. Ri's face was slightly white.  
  
'Oogami is dead,' Kanna began. 'No, I can feel his spirit. He has came back to fulfill his promise. He is Sendoh,' Maria continued quietly.  
  
'You have been thinking too much,' Ri tried to find a logical explanation.  
  
'No, Ichirou is back.'  
  
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Jess: I finally revealed who is Oogami in this story. Why Sendoh? Cause they possess similliar personalities. Actually it was their hairstyle that made me think of it.  
  
You must say Sakuragi and Kanna are like the same right?  
  
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